Dating aggression is a prevalent and costly public health concern. Alcohol use has been consistently associated with increased risk for dating aggression as well as severity of aggression (Rothman, McNaughton Reyes, Johnson, LaValley, 2012). The present proposal aims to address this pressing public health concern by advancing our knowledge of the links between alcohol use and dating aggression among young adults as well as risk or protective factors for these links. Specifically, the current proposal is aimed at assessing and extending a theoretical moderator model of alcohol use and aggression. Elucidating potential moderating factors of the associations between alcohol use and aggression will help identify novel points of prevention and intervention. Increasing evidence suggests that relational risk factors play a key role in accounting for variation in associations between alcohol use and aggression; yet, no study has examined the moderating role of relational factors in an intensive longitudinal design (Foran & O'Leary, 2008a). Also, no research has examined the impact of dating aggression on alcohol use among young adults, accounting for such risk factors. An extension of a moderator model examining links from aggression to alcohol use is critical for understanding a potential feedback loop of aggression, and identifying potential risk for substance abuse or revictimization. The present proposal aims to address these conceptual and methodological limitations in the literature by conducting an intensive longitudinal assessment of alcohol use, dating aggression, relational risk factors, and individual risk factors. 120 participants will complete six assessments, at one month intervals. Measures in the present proposal include an assessment of alcohol use, physical, sexual and psychological dating aggression, and measures of both individual and relational risk factors. Inclusion criteria will include prior experiences of dating aggression in order to recruit a high risk sample. Unlike prior work which has primarily been cross- sectional studies of college students, the present proposal's use of an intensive longitudinal design allows for an assessment of the impact of aggression itself on alcohol use, and includes both college and non-college participants. This line of research will target the NIAAA's Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research areas of high priority by: 1) Examining risk and protective factors for alcohol related violence among youth, 2) Informing prevention and intervention efforts targeting alcohol abuse in young adults, 3) Informing interventions aimed at reducing adverse consequences of alcohol use, particularly in young adult populations, and 4) Addressing these questions among both college and noncollege attending young adults. Overall, the proposal seeks to address a pressing and costly public health concern by furthering our understanding of moderators of associations between alcohol use and aggression. A better understanding of these links will help us toward elucidating risk and protective factors for alcohol related dating aggression among youth and informing prevention efforts aimed at reducing adverse consequences of alcohol use.